UK to export $73.7M worth of pig semen to China

UK to export $73.7M worth of pig semen to China

A pig at a pig farm in Lishu County, Jilin Province, in northeast China, on Jan. 17, 2008.

The United Kingdom will export £45 million ($73.7 million) of its best pig semen to China in 2014 in a deal Prime Minister David Cameron reached with his Chinese counterparts while visiting the country this week.

Chinese officials want to improve the quality of the country’s pigs by artificially inseminating their sows with high-quality British pig semen.

The deal is just one of £6 billion ($9.8 billion) worth of new business for UK companies and investment in Britain that Cameron says he’s drummed up during his three-day visit.

Other trade deals announced during the trip include an investment of £225 million ($368 million) by London-based SolaQuaGen in desalination plants in China, through which it will provide clean drinking water while generating 750 jobs in the UK; an order from China for £6 million (9.8 million) worth of gluten- and MSG-free sauces from Manchester-based Sweet Mandarin foods; and a film co-production treaty that provides incentives for British and Chinese filmmakers to work together.

"You don't have to know all the facts and figures about China to know that China's economic rise is going to play a huge role in the world and Britain should be in there pitching for business, pitching for investment, pitching for deals, securing jobs at home,” Cameron said.